Everspin Technologies has been selected by Astro Digital to supply 64Mb STT-MRAM for a geosynchronous Earth orbit satellite mission based on the Raven bus. The memory will serve as the satellite's primary fail-safe boot memory.
Astro Digital plans to use Everspin's EM064LXAQDG13IS1T 64Mb STT-MRAM on its Raven bus platform. Boot memory stores the code needed to initialise spacecraft electronics and support system recovery. In this role, the memory is intended to retain critical boot information without power and make it available during start-up or recovery.
The design win places magnetoresistive random access memory in a mission-critical part of a satellite system rather than a secondary storage role. Geosynchronous missions typically run for long periods, increasing the importance of components used in start-up, recovery and other core functions.
Everspin's PERSYST line is aimed at embedded systems that need persistent memory. For satellite applications, the company highlights non-volatility, endurance, data retention and radiation tolerance, all key considerations for hardware operating in orbit.
Memory used for boot functions in spacecraft must preserve code when power is removed and then reliably make that code available when systems restart. That makes device selection significant, because a failure in boot memory can affect a spacecraft's ability to recover from faults.
Mission role
The Raven bus is Astro Digital's satellite platform for geosynchronous missions. By selecting Everspin's device as primary fail-safe boot memory, Astro Digital is assigning it a role directly tied to the initialisation of spacecraft electronics and the restoration of operations after a disruption.
That differs from applications such as payload data storage or less critical telemetry handling, where alternative memory technologies may be used with different trade-offs. Here, the selected part is tied to functions close to the spacecraft's core operation.
The release also pointed to telemetry logging and data retention as areas where MRAM can be relevant in satellite systems. Even so, the win announced here is focused on boot and recovery, among the most sensitive memory tasks onboard a spacecraft.
Space memory
MRAM has attracted interest in aerospace and defence because it combines non-volatile storage with relatively fast read and write access. Unlike volatile memory, it can preserve stored data without continuous power, a feature that matters in systems that may need to restart safely after interruptions.
In orbit, hardware must also cope with radiation exposure and long operational lifetimes. Vendors serving the sector often emphasise endurance and retention because mission equipment can remain deployed for years without the possibility of physical replacement or repair.
Everspin said its PERSYST portfolio has been deployed in mission-critical applications for more than 16 years. The company sells MRAM products across aerospace, defence, medical and industrial markets, positioning the technology for embedded systems where persistence and repeat write cycles are central requirements.
The portfolio includes 64Mb, 128Mb and 256Mb devices and uses a Quad SPI interface. Everspin also says the products offer faster write speeds than NOR flash, a comparison that matters in systems where memory updates must happen with limited overhead.
Company comments
Everspin framed the selection as evidence of demand for MRAM in spacecraft subsystems with strict operating requirements.
"Everspin's leadership in MRAM is built on advancing memory technology to address the real-world challenges customers face," said Sanjeev Aggarwal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Everspin Technologies.
"Astro Digital's selection of PERSYST shows how that innovation is being put to work in satellite applications with demanding requirements for boot, recovery, telemetry logging and data retention," Aggarwal said.
Astro Digital's Chief Technology Officer described the company's reasoning in narrower operational terms.
"For this Raven bus application, Everspin's 64Mb STT-MRAM was selected to support primary fail-safe memory for the system boot process," said Billy Wahng, Chief Technology Officer of Astro Digital.
"Its non-volatility, endurance and fast access align with the requirements we evaluate for critical spacecraft functions in GEO satellite systems," Wahng said.
The announcement gives Everspin a reference customer in the geosynchronous satellite segment, where component selection is closely tied to reliability demands over extended mission timelines. For Astro Digital, the choice identifies the memory architecture behind a core system layer on the Raven bus: the code storage used to bring the spacecraft online and support recovery if problems occur.